Venomous
by comeonlight
Summary: Seven is caught off guard on a mission and poisoned by an unfamiliar monster. There is no cure, no hope for her survival, and soon, all memories of her will be no more as well. A normally cold Sice shows just how much she actually cares. One-shot. Attempted angst, T for mild language.


The pain was almost too much to bear. The only thing keeping Seven from crying out in agony was the thought of her comrades. She knew that they cared about her, that they were all worried, and showing just how much pain she was in would only make them feel worse. Every healing spell had been cast, and none had reversed the effects of the poison.

It had all happened so quickly, Seven recalled. She, Trey, and Sice had been hurriedly dispatched to deal with reports of an unfamiliar monster. It came out of nowhere, so fast…She remembered seeing a blur of blue, huge fangs, Trey's arrow, and wide, horrified blue eyes…

"Sice," she murmured. Cater and Cinque lifted their lowered heads and looked at Seven. "Where's Sice?" Cater looked back down. "Probably still arguing with the doctors…Everyone else is out on missions." "Sice has been suuuper weird since getting back from fighting that monster thing," Cinque chimed in. Seven bit her lip. The wound in her thigh stung, despite the bandages and the pain medicine. She took a peek at it under her blanket and was able to make out a large red stain on the bandages, and a little bit of black. Poison? Probably. She looked at her hands: pale, trembling. It was a nuisance, not being able to help the others. Being completely useless…

Sice entered the infirmary room quietly, though anyone could tell there were a million things she wanted to say. "Seven's awake," Cinque said, and Sice snapped to attention. "Good to see you're conscious." She sat in a chair at Seven's bedside, opposite from Cater and Cinque. Seven turned her head a little. "Sice, your eyes are red. You okay?" Sice lowered her head to hide her face. "What kind of stupid question is that?"

A sudden knock on the door drew the attention of the four cadets. Kurasame entered and nodded at Seven, seeing that she was awake. "Cater, Cinque, Sice, you have a mission. You'll need to leave in exactly one hour. I'll brief you—" "I'm not going," Sice stated bluntly. This almost caught Kurasame off guard. He locked eyes with her. "You have a responsibility as a cadet, first and foremost." "I don't give a damn," Sice responded. An unnerving tension began to build, until Kurasame finally moved his gaze to Cater and Cinque. "Come with me."

Kurasame left with the two girls, leaving Sice alone with Seven. "Seven—" Sice almost choked as she saw that Seven was unconscious. "S-Seven!" Seven's eyes flickered open. "Oh, Sice…sorry…Did I scare you?" Almost instinctively, Sice said, "No," and then paused to think about it. "I wasn't scared, I was just…scared." Seven smiled weakly and wiggled her fingers a little. "Hey, hold my hand…come on…"

Sice took Seven's hand in both of her own.

"It's cold."

"Yeah. I don't think I have much time left."

"Don't. Don't say that."

A few tears escaped from Sice's eyes, and she silently cursed herself. "Sice, it's okay," Seven assured her friend. Sice couldn't help but crack a sarcastic smile. "We both know that's a lie, Seven. Don't fool yourself." "Only if you don't." "…On second thought, maybe it'd be nice to fool ourselves. Even for just a little bit. Pretend things are okay."

Seven closed her eyes and smiled. "Do you remember, all that time ago? When Mother first took you in?"

"Yeah. She gave me the best soup I've ever tasted to date."

"When I first learned your story, Sice, it hurt inside. I don't know why, but I just felt a lot of pain. I guess you could call it sympathy. I didn't want anyone else to ever be alone like you were before. Which is ironic, since I've probably killed countless children's parents. And here I am, wanting to build an orphanage after this war ends. But I won't last that long. If there even is an end." She laughed softly.

"I thought I was supposed to be the pessimistic one."

"I prefer to call it realism."

"…You were never really thrown off by my attitude, were you, Seven? How come?"

"I bear the power of understanding, Sice. I could always see a reason behind your words and actions."

Sice held Seven's hand tighter. "This might sound weird, but even though we didn't talk as much as we could've, I've considered you a really close friend for a long time. Maybe even my best friend." A tear fell out of Seven's eye. "Sorry…it just hurts a lot…You know, it's kind of funny. Didn't you say you wouldn't hesitate to leave anyone behind if they were a burden? Yet you're here."

Sice sat quietly for a few seconds. "Yeah, I'm here." Seven smiled again. "I'm glad. Hey, Sice…what did you want to do after this war ended?" Sice sighed. "Actually, I wanted to become a chef. Surprising, right? Heh…but now it just kind of seems like my whole future is…pointless. Like I'll never be happy. Dreams, all an illusion. A fantasy."

Seven's breathing softened. "Just had to get caught off guard…I'm sorry. Sorry you hurt now…" "Seven?" Sice shook Seven's hand a little. "Hey, come on! Remember when Jack inflated a marshmallow and it exploded? Hey! Remember when Trey went into shock after getting an answer wrong in class?" "Sorry…leaving you alone…again…"

Seven's eyes began to glass over. "Your hands…warm…" Sice gave up on holding back any tears. She let them stream down her face as she cried, "Seven! Don't die yet! Seven, snap out of it!" She took a deep breath. "Please," Seven whispered, a couple of tears escaping her eyes. "Move forward…Forget me." Sice stared, not completely understanding the situation. "Seven, remember when we were kids and I broke my knee and I cried, and you were right there? I cried all over your shirt, remember?" Seven's hand fell limp. "I think I'll have to do that, just one last time…"

Sice hugged Seven's body closely as her memories began to fade. She buried her face in Seven's shirt, muffling her cries. A few minutes later, the tears stopped. Sice released her comrade's body and backed away. She stared, trying to think of who this person was.

_She's pretty_, Sice thought. _Why was I hugging her like that? _And then it hit her. _She died, duh. Someone really important to me. She's dead. And I can't even remember her name. _There was an emptiness in her heart, and her mind wandered. And then it was slowly overtaken by fear. Another tear made its way down Sice's cheek.

"Damn it."


End file.
